Bjay's (Diabetic Mommy's)
Pregnancy and Birth Story

Part 6

Stomach Flu - Go Back 2 Spaces,
Go Back to the Hospital

Toward the end of February and end of March I was around 29-30 weeks pregnant. Everything seemed to be going really well. One evening I noticed the telltale signs of a hypoglycemic episode coming on - yucky metallic taste in my mouth, shaking, a cold sweat, uneasiness. I went ahead and started the routine for raising them. I checked my glucose level. It was 55. I ate 15 g of carbs and waited 15 minutes. I checked again and it was 50. I repeated the routine over and over for an hour and my glucose was now 40. I started to panic, and I was feeling really bad.

I grabbed my husband's box of mini chocolate-covered donuts and ate about 5 of them. No change. I got a sugary soda and drank down the whole can with only a lower glucose level as a response. Now I was afraid. I ran to my husband and told him we had to go to the emergency room NOW. I grabbed sugar packets, shoved them in my purse, and we were out the door to the hospital. I was downing a sugar packet every 15 minutes and my glucose was still unchanged. It was below 40.

When we got to the hospital they took us right in and checked my glucose level. It was still low. They tried to take measures to raise it, but could not get it back up to normal. I was starting to black out. I was going in and out of consciousness. They decided to transfer me to a better-equipped hospital. I don't remember being put in the ambulance. I remember the paramedic asking if I was okay when he was dropping me off at the other hospital. I was put on an IV and waited in a room for hours to get results from tests. They couldn't figure out what was going on.

Finally, very early in the morning, all hell broke loose - in my gastrointestinal tract that is. It turned out I had the stomach flu. I felt perfectly fine otherwise when my glucose levels first started to drop. I was admitted to the hospital and I don't remember very much of the first part of the week there. It seems like a freaky psychedelic nightmare now. All told, by the end of the week I had lost 10 pounds.

When I got home it seemed like I picked up a cold or flu from every Tom, Dick, and Harry. The midwife explained that during pregnancy your immune system has to weaken a little bit - otherwise your body would reject the baby. I worked hard from this point on to keep away from sick people.

On February 21, 2001, around 29 weeks, we got another sonogram picture. The baby could no longer fit within the confines of the viewing screen. We were told he weighed 3 pounds, 6 ounces. We all laughed when the sonographer said his gender was "startlingly pronounced" and the proud father chimed in with, "We'll name him Dirk Diggler." (Boogie Nights).

We had just completed our childbirth classes about this time and were proud of our certificates. Our hopes were to have the baby naturally using breathing and relaxation techniques.

Here's the sonogram picture. The top picture is the baby on his back in profile. The middle picture is looking down on his face. You can see his mouth and nose. The last picture is another profile while he's on his back.

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Index:

Part 1 - We Decide to Have a Baby
Part 2 - Meeting Dr. Wrong and Getting Pregnant
Part 3 - Finally Finding the Right Team Members
Part 4 - Going to the Hospital to Stabilize Glucose Levels
Part 5 - Let the Appointments Begin
Part 6 - Stomach Flu - Go Back 2 Spaces, Go Back to the Hospital
Part 7 - More Frequent Fetal Surveillance Begins
Part 8 - Go Back to the Hospital - To Have the Baby!
Part 9 - The Baby Comes!
Part 10 - Since the Birth

Diabetes and
Pregnancy:
What to
Expect
Recommended books

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